The Handwriting game.

Check out Jackie's blog for other handwriting samples!

By the way - you can see Gina's here
So to continue .....

Whoops, apologies to Madeira - I just wrote down what the late great Val Campbell Harding said.

That one above was with Deborah Gonet, sister of Stella (House of Elliott) Gonet! And fortunately, she's kinder to Madeira threads

Never did finish the bag started with Deidre Hawken - but I will.  Soon.

Finished the stitched self portrait with Mary Cozens Walker - could maybe do with a few stitched lines now

Above - from a wonderful weekend workshop near Bournemouth with Maggie Grey

Closer to home with Pauline Verrinder (I found the samples from the above course the other day)

And then finally ....

So that's it.

PS - My sister rang me to say that she'd got examples of my handwriting in her loft - she's got a folder with song lyrics that I'd written out years ago apparently. So, bright and early this morning, she was up in her loft and found the folder.  In amongst the lyrics, she found a poem I wrote to her when she was starting senior school, aged 11 and I'd have been 14.  She emailed it to me this morning - and having read it, I realise I was a bit mean to her even then - but it did make me laugh.

Four and Twenty Blackbirds .......

I've been away again this weekend - that's two weekends running with NO television and therefore no election coverage.   I think I may have to keep this up until the second week in May.  I've been to Rye near Hastings with my friends Jill and Julia. 

We stopped at Tenderden for coffee on the way down and popped in a few shops (charity and otherwise) while we were there.  I DIDN'T buy a very nice dress in Phase Eight, which saved me 90 quid, so consequently that gave me plenty to play with over the rest of the weekend.  (I'm sorry if you don't understand the logic behind that last sentence - I'm guessing you must be a bloke?)

We did buy these spoons though -

All three of us thought they were beautiful and just right for eating ice cream sundaes.    Ok, so we don't do that very often, and we did agreed that none of us really needed six spoons.  But then I suggested we buy one set and have two each, so that was another purchase justified.  Everyone needs two brightly coloured plastic knickerbocker glory spoons, don't they?  I nabbed the fuchsia pink and the bright orange ones and I left the other two to fight over the rest.

I'll gloss over the rest of the purchases for now.

Anyway, we made our way to Peasmarsh and found Carters Farm where we were staying, in Pond Cottage

It was lovely - and we were lucky enough to have the best weekend weather-wise so far this year.  But then, as I've probably said before, the sun always shines .....

Saturday we drove into Rye and explored some of the second hand shops

("Antique" is probably overdoing it a bit, and  the term 'junk shop' doesn't really do justice to the prices they were charging for some things) but we had a lovely time looking and bought a few little treasures.  I then suggested that we drive over to Dungeness as I'd read about Derek Jarman's (Film Director/Artist/Writer) house and garden on the stony beach and I'd always wanted to see it.  The others hadn't read about the cottage and after a bit of driving backwards and forwards, I think they were beginning to think that I was making it up.    But I found it -

I quite liked the cottage, and the garden was interesting, but it's rather an odd choice of location - unless you are a bit of a loner and particularly drawn to stony beaches, broken down shacks and find beauty in the architecture of a nearby power station. 

Anyway, I was pleased I'd finally seen it, and the girls said they were glad they'd been too, that it was an 'unusual' place that was different to anywhere else they could think off (my mates are nothing if not polite).  And to save you the journey, here are a couple more shots of the surrounding picturesque landscape ...

I think I saw the place in the photo above in an Estate Agent's window, described as "Bijou weekend cottage, away from the hurly burly, in need of some modernisation"  Apparently it had belonged to an MP who was claiming it as his second home. 

On Sunday it was back to Rye, but this time, as it was such a glorious day we decided to walk from the farm, across the fields, past loads of these ...

It was all going very nicely until the footpath sign indicated that we should cross here.  Jill volunteered to be the intrepid explorer to go first ....

but then one of the tree trunks wobbled, and she suddenly felt a bit less intrepid and changed her mind

Anyway, we did manage to find our way to Rye and had a really good day wandering around the town

past the author Henry James' house

Then a bit more vintage/junk shop browsing, and finally exploring a fabulous church, that had magnificent stained glass windows, including this one by William Morris' mate, Byrne-Jones.  This window was used in a design for a postage stamp (see bottom left hand corner)

We even bravely climbed up the (very narrow) steps into the bell tower and out onto the roof  for some stunning views.

Our cottage is past the farthest trees on the horizon in the next picture - (AND we walked back too!)

Definitely worth it, even though we did have to come down the steep wooden stairs in the church tower backwards.  So with all that walking and climbing,  I don't think we need to feel at all guilty for popping in here ....

I love these old sweetshops - just like the proper sweetshops my Grandad used to have when I was little.  I got butterscotch filled with chocolate, Julia went for a couple of licquorice wands, and Jill chose Clove balls.  They smelt disgusting and I was very tempted to pop a moth ball into her bag to see if she could taste the difference, but I managed to control the urge.

Lovely weekend, with great company, and we are all in favour of going back there sometime.

PS - Maggie Grey very kindly mentioned my blog in her article in Workbox magazine - and I've tried everywhere to get a copy but no luck.  If there's anyone who has the April/May copy of the magazine and they don't save it forever, please can I have it when you've done with it.  I may never be in print again.

STOP PRESS!! My lovely sister managed to get me a copy of Workbox from Kings Lynn this morning so problem solved!

Back from Belstead

Had a great weekend with my sister Linda's patchwork group The Flying Geese, at Belstead - and my quilt is finished!!  (Excuse the rubbish photo)

Well, I say finished.  There's still some handquilting to do, and it's still held together with little plastic tag things until the quilting is finished (those little black dots that look like fleas in the picture).  BUT, it's put together, and the edges are done, and I've put it on my bed so that it makes me finish the quilting, and so there's one less bag on the floor of my sewing room.  And I will take a proper picture when it's completely finished, and ironed (I couldn't do it yet or the little black plastic fleas will melt).

Linda and I visited a great patchwork shop on the Saturday morning, East Coast Quilting in Walton, near Felixstowe - it's quite new apparently but already has a really good range which is apparently expanding all the time

They run workshops too - I'd like to do this one ...

Having spent a bit of time (and money) in there, we went to Bags of Handles which (as it says on the tin) sells handles for bags, as well as numerous other must-haves for bag making, patterns and books and also knitting yarn.  We eventually managed to drag ourselves away though and back to Belstead (didn't want to miss lunch!)

Here's a selection of some of the work produced over the weekend.  I haven't got photos of everything - some people had packed up before I got my camera out and some of the photos were less than successful, so apologies if I've missed anyone.  The first two are Linda's - a little bag/box for holding her fabric postcards, decorated with some of her hand-dyed buttons

And then some handstitching on scrim and silk velvet - a work in progress ...

And now I'm just going to show the photos in case I can't remember who they belong to!

Sorry it's short and sweet but I'm dashing off again.  Excuse any spelling mistakes - no time to check!

Not so pukka

I've been feeling a bit sorry for myself this week - I've had some kind of flu type lurgy, where everything aches, with a cough and a sore throat, and I've ended up with a throat infection, resulting in me losing my voice.  I'm starting to feel much better now, although still a bit croaky and lazy.  Right, that's it - health bulletin over.  I'm not after sympathy or anything, honest.

Hence, I haven't been out all week, and I've just pottered around and lolled about and watched daytime telly - whatever next?!?   I have to tell you, Rosemary and Thyme isn't a patch on Midsomer Murders.

Still, I recovered sufficiently for my family to visit on Friday, on their way to a family party - which I was also due to attend but decided against it in the end, not wishing to spread my germs.  Plus, it would have been difficult to talk to anyone at that stage.

So, unaccustomed as I am to baking - I made some Easter fairy cakes ....

I guessed that everyone would make the effort to be polite and manage to force one down, but I think they all had two, and I believe that my sister and brother-in-law  had three each.  Now, I have to say, I think that would be taking politeness beyond the course of duty,  so I can only assume the cakes must have been ok.  (I'll probably find them stuffed down the back of the sofa at some point in the future).  Certainly, they tasted all right to me, but then I'll eat anything if it's smothered in butter cream and chocolate eggs. 

I made little 'eggy parcels' for my Mum and sister, with a knitted Easter chick with a cream egg stuffed inside

 

Apparently, while I was getting lunch,  my Mum, looking puzzled, asked  my sister "Why do you think there is a straw in there?"    I bet you know don't you?  My sister did, because she's every bit as daft as me.  Obviously, it's so the chick doesn't suffocate!

My sister gave me a beautiful heart shaped brooch, that she'd made by stitching hundreds of tiny french knots

After my visitors had gone off to the party, and I was sitting on my own like some gravelly-voiced Cinders, I sat and counted the french knots - there are 986 altogether. Why are you doubting me??  Believe me, counting french knots beats daytime telly anytime.

Despite my seriously delicate state,  I have managed to finish a few things - a pink cardigan that I was knitting in time for last summer - but as we didn't have one there turned out to be no rush.  And a beaded necklace for my friend Val for her birthday - obviously I didn't have it finished in time for her birthday, but she got it today, so it's only a couple of weeks late. 

There are one or two other things, but they will have to wait until next time.

LOVE letters - you can stick 'em!

I've had a really good day out at the Country Living Fair at the Business Design Centre in Islington.  I travelled up with friends Jill and Julia, and then met up with Gina (Fan My Flame).  We all showed great financial restraint this morning - I certainly didn't buy much at all.  But then,  after we'd all met up and had some lunch, it was a bit of a different story this afternoon.  Although, as regular readers will know, I don't cook, I bought some red spotty cupcake cases, matching paper napkins, and some red glitter stuff to sprinkle on fairy cakes.  I figure that if I can produce cakes that look pretty and sparkly, maybe no-one will notice that they're not up to much in the taste stakes.  It's always good to be aware of your failings.

Then we saw the Decopatch stand.  I'd first seen this when  Attic 24 was enthusing about Decopatch back in November.  I probably could have resisted, except that Gina said she was going to buy a kit, (consisting of MDF letters and glue and some beautiful tissue-y type paper)  and then she MADE me buy one too.  I'd been telling her earlier today, that she never seems to waste time - she decides she's going to make something and she does it - just like that, whereas I put it away and forget about it only to rediscover it some weeks/months/years later when I tidy up.  As we'd both got the same kit, and as I know she won't waste any time in finishing hers - I thought for once I'd get cracking with mine.  AND, as Gina was going straight from the show to meet up with some other bloggy friends - she won't be able to do hers tonight.

So,  as soon as I got home (without even pausing to eat) I was in my workroom, cutting and sticking until it was finished - and I've won! (not that it's a competition or anything, obviously)

It's really quick to do, and the glue/varnish dries very quickly - so hopefully it won't have made any sticky marks on the wall where I've put it to take the photograph.

Incidentally, I asked Gina for the instructions to make Tyvek flowers, which is one of the many wonderful workshops she teaches.  She very kindly, not only bought the instructions with her today - but she gave me this gorgeous flower too!

She said it would be easier to explain how they should look if I had an example.  Isn't it beautiful - and isn't she lovely?  I almost feel guilty for beating her in the decopatch race.